Rajkot – Dig Into The Past

Rajkot is the fourth-largest city in the state of Gujarat, India, after Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara and is in the centre of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. Rajkot is the 35th-largest metropolitan area in India, with a population of more than 2 million as of 2021. Rajkot is the 6th cleanest city of India, and it is the 7th fastest-growing city in the world as of March 2021. The city contains the administrative headquarters of the Rajkot District, 245 km from the state capital Gandhinagar, and is located on the banks of the Aji and Nyari rivers. Rajkot was the capital of the Saurashtra State from 15 April 1948 to 31 October 1956, before its merger with Bombay State on 1 November 1956. Rajkot was reincorporated into Gujarat State on 1 May 1960.

History

Rajkot has been under different rulers since it was founded. It has had a long history and had a significant influence in the Indian independence movement. Rajkot was home to many personalities like Mahatma Gandhi. Rajkot is in a transition period of growing cultural, industrial, and economical activities. Rajkot is the 26th largest city in India and the 22nd fastest-growing urban area in the world.

Rajkot was the capital of Saurashtra state from 15 April 1948 to 31 October 1956 before merging in bilingual Bombay State on 1 November 1956. Rajkot was merged into Gujarat State from bilingual Bombay state on 1 May 1960. Thakur Saheb Pradyumansinhji died in 1973. His son, Manoharsinhji Pradyumansinhji, has carved out a political career at the provincial level, succeeded him. He served as a Member of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly for several years and as the state Minister for Health and Finance. Monoharsinhji’s son, Mandattasinh Jadeja has embarked on a business career.

On 26 January 2001 the 7.7 Mw  Gujarat earthquake shook Western India with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), leaving 13,805–20,023 dead and about 166,800 injured. This earthquake mainly affected the Kutch region of western Gujarat.

Culture

The people in Rajkot are predominantly vegetarians. The women of Rajkot are fond of jewellery. Large chains, pendants and other heavy gold jewellery are a common sight during marriages, festivals and functions. The attire changes with the season and festivals. The ladies normally wear Gujarati style Saree and men can be seen in flowing Kurtas and formal wear (shirts and trousers).

Rajkot is multicultural. One can find many languages, like Gujarati, Hindi, Urdu, English, Sindhi, Bengali, Tamil, Malayalam and Marathi. However, only Gujarati, Hindi, Urdu, and English are well understood. Rajkot is the part of Kathiyawad. Because of this, people of Rajkot are also known as Kathiyawadi.

Rajkot is frequently referred to as Rangilu Rajkot (રંગીલુ રાજકોટ), meaning “Colourful Rajkot”. Rajkot is also called as “Chitranagri” (City of Paintings).

Literature

Malcolm Pasley, renowned and highly respected scholar and translator of the works of Franz Kafka, was born in Rajkot.

Landmarks

Rajkot has many historical landmarks and places. The Jubilee Garden is a large, open park in the centre of the city featuring many monuments from colonial times. Located prominently in the centre of the garden is the Connaught Hall. Other notable points of interest near the garden include the historic Mohandas Gandhi High School (Now Mahatma Gandhi Museum), Kaba Gandhi No Delo (Mohandas Gandhi’s childhood residence), Rashtriya Shala, Watson Museum, Rotary Dolls Museum, Lang Library, Rotary Midtown Library and Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium.

The Rotary Dolls Museum has a collection of more than 1,400 dolls from all over the world. This museum is being managed by Rotary Club of Rajkot Midtown along with Rajkot Nagrik Sahakari Bank. The Museum has earned a place in Limca Book of Records for its unique collection of dolls.

The Lang Library and the G.T. Sheth Library collect thousands of documents and books covering every period in Rajkot and Saurashtra history. Rajkot has many other public libraries with many branches throughout the city. It includes Rotary Midtown of Rajkot City Library and many more.

Other points of interest in Rajkot include Darbargarh Haveli, Swaminarayan Gurukul, Masonic Hall, Race Course, Aji Dam, Swaminarayan Temple, Iskcon Temple, Vishwakarma Prabhuji Temple.

The Watson Museum, located in the Jubilee Garden, has a collection of human history and culture. It presents objects of the colonial period of India and the history of Rajkot. The Rajkot Memon Boarding is the headquarters of Muslim activities before 1947. Saurashtra Muslim league held many Muslim conventions at Rajkot Memon boarding ground.

The Gaibanshah Peer Dargah is the centre of conviction of people whether they are Muslims or Hindus. At Gaibanshah Peer Dargah there is a religious program called Ursus every year. In this program almost every year every religion’s head comes and take part in this gathering to preach about peace and humanity.

The Trimandir, a non-sectarian temple founded by Dada Bhagwan, is located at a short distance from the city. AIIMS Rajkot’s medical college is located in its temporary campus at PDU medical College in the Hospital chowk area of Rajkot.

Awards

Best LAW and Order city – 2013 Best Housing & Transport City- 2015 Safe City Award for Rajkot Eye-Way Project 2018 Best city for Women Safety- 2013 Best City Cleanliness and Sanitation- 2013 National Winner of WWF’s One Planet City Challenge 2018 National Award For Implementation of Food Safety Act-2016

Performing arts

Rajkot is a major regional centre for the arts, with many venues for the performing arts in the city. Hemu Gadhvi Natyagraha, one of the first non-profit regional theatres, is rich with history and dedicated to the Gujarati Play.

Music

Rajkot has its own native music genre, called day, which is used to convey folk stories and sayings. Rajkot also inherited Kathiyawadi folk music. The city also has various orchestra groups, which perform professionally. They mainly perform music albums from Bollywood.

Sports

Cricket is the most popular sport in the city. One-day internationals, domestic tournaments such as the Ranji Trophy, the Duleep Trophy and many inter-school and collegiate tournaments are played at the Madhavrao Sindhia Cricket Ground. The newly constructed 2nd International Cricket Stadium situated in Rajkot, Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, formerly known as Khandheri Cricket Stadium, is a cricket stadium in Khandheri, about 15 kilometers outside Rajkot, India. The Stadium has a capacity of 28,000 to 32,000 spectators. In this cricket stadium, Day/Night matches can now also be played. The stadium hosted its 1st International Cricket Match played on 11 January 2013 between India and England. The stadium will part of a larger sports complex that will include venues for other sports such as badminton, basketball, and volleyball. It will host Saurashtra Cricket Association matches along with Madhavrao Sindhia Cricket Ground. Rajkot has produced cricketers such as Karsan Ghavri and Cheteshwar Pujara who have been members of the Indian cricket team. Rajkot has many other cricket grounds around city, including Railway Cricket Ground and Rajkumar College South Ground. Apart from cricket, other sports such as hockey, association football, volleyball, badminton, tennis, table-tennis, chess, swimming, and squash are rapidly growing popular in the city. There has been a significant increase in recent years in the number of private sports clubs, gymkhanas, and gymnasiums. Kathiawar gymkhana, indoor stadium, and swimming pools of Rajkot Municipal Corporation are major sports clubs in the city. Recently, the Gujarat Hockey Team (Under 14) was assembled with all 16 players coming from Rajkot. A new modernized cricket ground is even under construction at the outskirts. There are numerous swimming pools too. Rajkot Municipal Corporation also owns a 9-hole golf course at Ishwaria. It is maintained by Green Meadows Golf Club.

In 2016 and 2017, a franchise from Rajkot played in Indian Premier League. The franchise was owned by Intex Technologies.

Cycling is a fast-growing sport in Rajkot. Members of “Rajkot Cycle Club” regularly ride BRMs which are timed events which stretch from 200 km to 1200 km.

Festivals

Garba is popular among both, men and women and is performed during the festival of Navratri. The dance starts before midnight and continues until dawn. Mata Ambe, who rides a lion, has a special reverential status with any highly religious Gujarati. The ‘Janmastami Mela’ is organised for five days at the Race Course grounds to celebrate Janmastami. Diwali is one of the most important festival and is usually a week long holiday. Rajkot Municipal Corporation arranges the annual Fireworks Show for the citizens of Rajkot during the Diwali festival. The festival of Eid is also celebrated by the Muslim population. Holi is also celebrated with frolic and is widely enjoyed by most of the city folk. People also celebrate Uttarayan (Makar Sankranti) on 14 January by flying kites from their terraces.

Places To Stay: The Imperial Palace, Hotel Bhakti, Patria Suites, Hotel Paramount Inn, K. K. Beacon Hotel

Things To Do: Feast on delicious food, Visit workshops to see Mayur Patola Art, Check out Tarnetar Fair, Go wild at Fun World

Places To Visit: Kaba Gandhi No Delo, Watson Museum, Jubilee Garden, Lal Pari Lake, Race Course Ground

Location: Rajkot, Gujarat

How To Reach: Rajkot is equipped with a domestic airport which is just 2.5 kilometers away from the city center. You can take a flight to Rajkot and reach the destination easily.

Famous For: Historical sites